Beneath the night sky, a desolate air permeated the imperial capital behind its brightly lit streets.
There were few pedestrians on the roads, and even fewer around the imperial palace.
Your Majesty the Emperor withdrew his gaze from the streets outside the imperial palace, turned, walked to the recliner, and sat down, poking at the firewood in the fireplace.
Under the blazing flames, the firewood not only gave off no strange odor, but instead filled the room with a distinctive woody fragrance! Firewood worth as much as silver crackled in the flames. It was not only wood that was burning, but also the wealth it represented! The Imperial Family had its own Forest Farm for growing these trees, and the various annual expenses came to roughly a million Federal Sol.
That did not include the value of the trees themselves.
Only the Imperial Family and a very small number of great nobles could afford to enjoy such firewood.
There were several people in the room. Besides him, there were also the Great Imperial Son, the Second Imperial Son, and two generals dressed in Army uniforms.
The shoulders of the two generals bore no military ranks identifying their status. Instead, they carried something resembling badges.
Two legendary divine beasts.
Their uniforms also differed from those of the other Army troops.
If other Army soldiers had been present, they might have recognized these men's identities—the uniforms of the Imperial Second Guards Corps and the Imperial Royal Knights! One of the two was the commander of the Second Guards Corps, while the other was the commander of the Royal Knights.
The flames grew much stronger as Your Majesty the Emperor poked at them. He set down the fire tongs and looked at the people standing there.
The group immediately stood at attention, chests